We arrived at Liverpool University with plenty of charge but since the car would have to be sat still most of the day it seemed worthwhile to put it on to slow charge. Having dropped the family at the edge of the campus I drove to the Women’s Hospital to park up. I plugged in to the CYC charger in the car park there – one of the few in Liverpool – and walked to the campus.
Although things started well, I was later notified by the BMW I Remote app on my phone that charging had stopped due to an error. I ignored it but after the university visit was over and we headed home I found that not only had the charging stopped early but the charging cable was half hanging out the charge point – something I didn’t think was possible. Anyway, no harm was done; as even with an incomplete charge the i3 still had about 100 miles of range. That was plenty to start heading home with.
We stopped at Keele services on the way home and charged while eating dinner. That got us home with loads of charge to spare, even driving at 70mph (something I would rarely do in the old ZOE). A definite thumbs-up for the new longer-range i3!
It’s that time of year again when students and their parents travel around the country visiting university open days – and this year it’s us. Our daughter has chosen to visit the University of Liverpool first so that’s where we’re going today.
It’s 150 miles from our home in Northampton. With our previous EV, the Renault ZOE, I would have been nervous as it would have meant charging twice on the way.
With our new i3 I’m much more relaxed as it will only need one charge to get us there. And that has been at Stafford services on the M6, and has gone well, courtesy of an Ecotricity CCS rapid charger. The car fully charged in the time it took us to have breakfast.
Ahead of our first long journey in the i3 tomorrow I thought it best to test the rapid charging for the first time. Connected up to the Ecotricity charge point at Newport Pagnell Northbound – worked first time!
Not sure about speed of charging, will do some calculations later.
After my recent attempts at testing the range of the BMW i3 94Ah achieved 130 miles and 150 miles per charge I decided to go all-out for a final ‘ultimate’ test and see if I could reach 200 miles on a charge, something of a milestone for any electric car.
The method was the same as ever; commute to work for 4 days in a row driving 40 miles each day for work plus an additional mileage up to 10 miles each evening for family trips. This time I used Eco Pro+ Mode which limits the acceleration, the climate control system and the top speed. Moreover I made a lot of use of the cruise control set to 37mph for the faster stretches of the route, but 27mph wherever I could (e.g. passing through villages). Towards the end of the test I used the 27mph limit most of the time.
Only a quarter of the charge left but less than 150 miles done (Image: T. Larkum)
After two days, halfway through, the car was teasing the possibility of 200 miles on the charge, with 100.3 miles achieved and only 49% battery used. After the third day, however, it wasn’t looking quite so good with 147.2 miles achieved on 74.5% battery used. I believe this was largely my fault as during the day I had ‘shown off’ the i3 to a colleague, including demonstrating its acceleration, and that had cost me precious range.
And so it was that I failed. At the end of the fourth day, using up the last remaining bit of charge driving around a loop near my house, the range display changed from blue to orange and instead of showing a projected range it read ‘low mi’. I finally gave up and let the car drive down the local hill to home once the battery charge read 0%.
Our BMW i3 94Ah manages 196.3 miles on a charge (Image: T. Larkum)
After 4 days driving on a single charge the i3 had achieved 196.3 miles of range, with a displayed efficiency of 4.9mi/kWh. I had failed to achieve the intended 200 miles. So near and yet so far…!
Given how long the test had taken, and how slowly I had had to drive to achieve the mileage, I currently have no plans to repeat it (at least not this year, perhaps next summer).
The eDRIVE eco results showing 10+ mi/kWh consumption and 20+ mi/kWh regeneration (Image: T. Larkum)
So I lay down the challenge – who is going to be the first i3 94Ah BEV driver to achieve 200 miles on a single charge?
After my previous attempts at getting a good range out of the i3, and achieving 130 miles then 150 miles, I thought I’d go all-out for the longest range I could achieve.
After two days this is what the dashboard showed:
Our i3 teasing 100 miles on half the battery (Image: T. Larkum)
So, yes, our i3 is saying it has done just over 100 miles on just under half its battery…
At Fuel Included we’re pleased to say we’ve been recognised as a start-up company with the potential for fast growth.
We have been invited into the nationwide Entrepreneurial Spark programme, one of the world’s largest business accelerators for early stage and growing ventures, with a place for us at the Milton Keynes office. This so-called ‘Hatchery’ had its official opening on 5 September:
Our BMW i3 94Ah manages 150 miles on a charge (Image: T. Larkum)
Following my encouraging achievement of 130 miles on a single charge of the i3 without too much trouble, last week I decided to make a more determined attempt to get a good range. The process was the same as ever – commuting to work in a careful way. The journey is about 40 miles return but with additional errands in the evening (e.g. picking up children) I typically do 50 miles per day.
The approach was therefore simple – commute with gentle driving for three days in a row, and on the evening of the third day do some local driving until the charge had almost gone. I made sure I was driving in Eco Pro Mode, and also adjusted this so its maximum speed was reduced to 70mph. Doing that this time I was rewarded with a range on one charge of 152.7 miles (and a consumption figure of 4.4 mi/kWh).
I’m very pleased with that, but it has also encouraged me to try harder – particularly as that 4.4 consumption figure is still not as high as I’ve achieved with the (heavier) ZOE – so watch this space!
Our BMW i3 94Ah manages 130 miles on a charge (Image: T. Larkum)
With the ZOE we had before getting the i3 I used to enjoy the challenge of seeing how far I could get on a charge. While it was exciting when our ZOE first promised 100 mile range, such a distance should be no challenge for the ‘94Ah’ (longer-range) version of the i3.
When I collected it and first switched it on it very encouragingly promised 120 miles of range – a very good start, I thought. However, I did a lot of ‘testing of its performance’ on that first day and, as previously described, showed it off in the same vein to a number of colleagues at work. Later that day I went to another office and repeated the exercise.
Furthermore, that evening after work, I went out with friends and, partly to show off the new car, volunteered to drive. Again I couldn’t resist the urge to demonstrate its fast acceleration at every opportunity. The end result was that afterwards I was barely able to coax the car home – which served me right of course – having achieved just 100 miles range on that first day’s charge.
The following week I decided to attempt instead to see what range it was capable of. I commuted to work in a more relaxed manner over the next couple of days, keeping the car in Comfort Mode – and achieved 130 miles before putting the car on to charge. A much more respectable result!
According to the dashboard the consumption was 4.0mi/kWh over that long distance. On the ZOE it was possible fairly easily to get 4.5mpkWh (and I once achieved 6mpkWh, 142 miles) so I’m sure there’s more range to be had from the i3 yet.
There has been a rumour circulating for a while that the ZOE will go up in price soon. It seemed credible as the current prices have held since the start of July, and the final sales quarter of the year is approaching.
Anyway, we were informed officially today that it’s true, and prices will go up from 1st October.
While we don’t know the full details of the change we know that it will impact the most popular model, the Dynamique Nav (but not the Expression) and that it will add about £350 onto the price of the car. We expect that to equate to about £15 per month on a 2 year PCP.
Renault has made it clear that it will honour the current lower prices on all orders received by 30th September. So, if you’re considering getting a ZOE, do give us a call (07920-790600) or drop us an email (sales@fuelincluded.com). Otherwise you could be kicking yourself in a few weeks’ time.
Annual Mileage
Monthly Cost (£990 Deposit)
Monthly Cost (£500 Deposit)
Fuel Included Miles
3,000
£175
£196
All
5,000
£199.60
£221
All
6,000
£203
£223
10,000
7,500
£207
£227
10,000
9,000
£218
£239
10,000
10,500
£230
£251
10,000
12,000
£243
£263
10,000
15,000
£266
£287
10,000
The other benefits of the deal remain the same, including the free installation of a charge point. As ever the car comes with 10,000 miles of fuel included, plus support, free tax, and in many places free parking.
Following our family’s successful test drive of an i3 we decided to order one, and I looked around for a good deal. I contacted the dealer closest to my work in Milton Keynes but the only deal they could offer us was very expensive (ca. £600 per month).
Online there was a mix of offers available, most at very high prices but a couple at a good price. I researched these further and settled on a particularly attractive Personal Contract Hire (PCH) lease deal. I eventually took one, for a base i3 but with Loft interior and optional wood dash.
My first glimpse of our new i3 (Image: T. Larkum)
All of this took place about the time of, and was prompted by, the launch by BMW of the i3 version known as a ‘94Ah’ (because its new battery cells have a higher capacity than the old 60Ah ones). We are therefore receiving one of the first examples of this longer-range i3 to be produced, and the i3 was on the shortlist to follow our ZOE precisely because of the increase in range it would provide.
Our new i3 in the showroom (Image: T. Larkum)
I was surprised but pleased to learn that although the car would be on lease, it could be supplied through our local dealer (closest to home), Wollaston BMW in Northampton. That was particularly appropriate as that was where we had our test drive.
Nearly time to go… (Image: T. Larkum)
After waiting was seemed like ages (but was actually only a couple of months) I went and collected the car last Friday. There was a minimum of paperwork but a long and detailed handover in the showroom covering all the main points of operating the car (my thanks go to Ben at Wollaston for his patience and attention to detail).
Sitting outside the office (Image: T. Larkum)
I then drove it out of the showroom and straight to the office in Milton Keynes. There I didn’t even get to sit down before I was asked to do test rides, and eventually took out a dozen people. It was no hardship, though, as it’s such a pleasure to drive.
I’m loving the new i3 and haven’t stopped smiling since I picked it up!
